Fearless Leader
Donor
Allright I just recently came across an interesting POD in a book of mine. Anyhow I faintly remembered Faeelin posting something about it and so after a little searching I came up with this...
Allright but lets put a different Spin on this POD...
Ok, the dude in charge of setting up the French colonies was Admiral Gaspard de Coligny although the spelling could be slightly different.
Now lets say that instead of picking Villegagnon (who was chosen BTW because of his renown in battle and NOT for his administrative skill) Coligny picks a capable Huguenot administrator.
Also a fact not presented in Faeelins account is that Villegagnon positioned his colony on a island off the coast of Rio which had no fresh water supply and relied completely on the trade with the natives which were quickly driven away by Villegagnons jackass-ness. Lets suppose that his hypothetical replacement is a tad bit smarter...
Allright now Coligny's main goals for colonization were 3 fold
1. To create a haven for his co-religionists...
2. To break Portugals and Spain's hold on the New world
3. To increase the wealth of France
Allright so now its 1555 and we have a well supplied well positioned Co-religionist French colony on the site of Rio de Janiero establishing a prosperous trade with the natives.
Consider the following
-French traders maintained a signifigant presence in the region WITHOUT crown help until 1603 when the combined Spanish/Portuguese drove them out. How would they faire?
-Coligny after the failure in Brazil tried to establish several colonies in Florida all of which failed due to natural or Spanish causes. I'm assuming he would screw Florida and focus on consolidating French South America. Where would he locate the other settlements (Remember during this time period the French dominated the area from Cape Frio- Rio de Janiero.)
-The French were notorious at supplying and aiding natives to achieve their goals. How would French Armed Natives affect the Portuguese colonies (They equipped some in OTL moreso in TTL)
-Coligny was a Huguenot would the fact that he established Frances only real hold in the America's spare him from the St. Bartholemews Massacre. Would the Huguenot colonial success lessen the devastation of the War of Religion?
-Would France use Brasil as a dumping ground for Huguenots? Demanding of course that the Huguenots swear loyalty to the crown before colonising? If so this creates an interesting scenario further down the line
-Assuming that the French manage to gain a substaintial foothold in SA and abandon all claims on the Frigid north called Canada. Who would dominate the region with its furs the Dutch or the English? The Former presents a very interesting possibility....
-Could a French Brasil set off an earlier war between France and Spain? If so how would it go?
Just some things to think about...
Faeelin said:In 1555, the french set up a colony on the site of OTL rio de janero. It was doing pretty wel, but its governor, Villegagnon, started acting like a general jackass, causing people to flee. Reports of his attitude actually cancelled an expedition of 900 people, which would have let the french hold on to the area and outnumber the portuguese in the region. (northern brazil is probably out, though).
The portuguese probably, in turn, appeal to the pope, who protests at their violation of the treaty of tordesailles, which, in turn, upsets the french businesses.
How does a colony that's part hugenot, part catholic, proudly french, effect the development of the area? And how does the pope's protest effect the religious wars.
Allright but lets put a different Spin on this POD...
Ok, the dude in charge of setting up the French colonies was Admiral Gaspard de Coligny although the spelling could be slightly different.
Now lets say that instead of picking Villegagnon (who was chosen BTW because of his renown in battle and NOT for his administrative skill) Coligny picks a capable Huguenot administrator.
Also a fact not presented in Faeelins account is that Villegagnon positioned his colony on a island off the coast of Rio which had no fresh water supply and relied completely on the trade with the natives which were quickly driven away by Villegagnons jackass-ness. Lets suppose that his hypothetical replacement is a tad bit smarter...
Allright now Coligny's main goals for colonization were 3 fold
1. To create a haven for his co-religionists...
2. To break Portugals and Spain's hold on the New world
3. To increase the wealth of France
Allright so now its 1555 and we have a well supplied well positioned Co-religionist French colony on the site of Rio de Janiero establishing a prosperous trade with the natives.
Consider the following
-French traders maintained a signifigant presence in the region WITHOUT crown help until 1603 when the combined Spanish/Portuguese drove them out. How would they faire?
-Coligny after the failure in Brazil tried to establish several colonies in Florida all of which failed due to natural or Spanish causes. I'm assuming he would screw Florida and focus on consolidating French South America. Where would he locate the other settlements (Remember during this time period the French dominated the area from Cape Frio- Rio de Janiero.)
-The French were notorious at supplying and aiding natives to achieve their goals. How would French Armed Natives affect the Portuguese colonies (They equipped some in OTL moreso in TTL)
-Coligny was a Huguenot would the fact that he established Frances only real hold in the America's spare him from the St. Bartholemews Massacre. Would the Huguenot colonial success lessen the devastation of the War of Religion?
-Would France use Brasil as a dumping ground for Huguenots? Demanding of course that the Huguenots swear loyalty to the crown before colonising? If so this creates an interesting scenario further down the line
-Assuming that the French manage to gain a substaintial foothold in SA and abandon all claims on the Frigid north called Canada. Who would dominate the region with its furs the Dutch or the English? The Former presents a very interesting possibility....
-Could a French Brasil set off an earlier war between France and Spain? If so how would it go?
Just some things to think about...